Seasons

One thing I miss about New England is the seasons.  I would see the most beautiful leaves in very vibrant colors.  On the flip side, I do not miss scraping ice off my windshield and driving in the snow. 

Just like the weather, we go trough seasons in our lives as well.  There are seasons of plenty, seasons of hardship, seasons of great joy and sometime seasons of sadness.  No matter the season in your life, be encouraged to keep yourself deep in the Word of God. 

I love the description of the godly in Psalm 1: 3: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” 

Here are some practical steps to be like that tree:

1) Stay in the Word of God and Prayer

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

2) Plant Yourself in the Church   

That means be faithful to attend and to give of yourself where God is leading. 

Psalm 92:12-13  The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree… Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.

3) Be Accountable to Friends Who Will Encourage You in Your Faith in Christ

4) Rid Yourself of Harmful Influences

I encourage you to be like that tree the yields its fruit in its season, whose leaf doesn’t wither, and prospers in everything.  

No!

I have a 2 year old, Bella, whose favorite word it seems is NO.  She seems to even revel in saying it.  Here’s a challenge for you – know what you are called to and what you are not and use the word “No.” 

It has been often said that the enemy of great is good.  It’s so easy to say yes to things.  Someone asks you to volunteer for something you think – sure I can “squeeze” it in.  Soon you are squeezing so much in that you don’t have any time at all.  Then add your family member’s responsibilities to your calendar that your week gets so crazily busy that you hardly have time to breathe between events…  Life becomes a blur.  

Think about your children.  Often the amount of time you spend with a child communicates something – if you never have time for them, it is time to revisit your schedule and your priorities.  It’s time for change.  Do you want to be remembered as a good or great parent! 

It’s the same with ministry within the church.  If you spread yourself out too thin among a lot of different areas you may actually short circuit what God has called you to.  Take a look at your life and become more focused.  Focus on what matters, focus on what you are called to do.  

If we are doing too much instead of having a focus on what God has called us to, we may only achieve good.  If we concentrate on a chosen focus – instead of volunteering for everything – we may actually achieve the great result we want in life. 

Say no to some things and revel in doing God’s will! 

How Do You Take Your Coffee?

How do you take your coffee?  Do you know certain people well enough to be familiar with how they take theirs?

People are looking for a place where they belong - where they are known.  There’s a certain comfort in having leaders who know and believe in you.  As leaders we should aspire to really get to know the people God sends our way.  We should aspire to know them to the point where they are comfortable sharing their struggles and successes. 

Maybe even get to know how they take their coffee… 

In Acts 2:46-47 the believers, “worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s supper and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.  And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.” 

What an awesome picture of reaching people through small groups! A  coach recently shared a testimony of a lady who was attending a small group.  She was amazed at the love and the bond the people shared, and she got born again during one of the meetings!  That is New Testament evangelism at it’s best!  Small groups provide the perfect opportunity to get to know someone deeply and lead them to a life-giving relationship with Christ.

In the superficial world we are all living in, there are a lot of people out there looking to meet someone who truly cares about them, who is even interested in the little things like how they take their coffee.  I have a question for you.  Who has God sent to you?  Do you take the time to find out what is going on in their lives and share the hope they have in Christ?  In this fast paced world, that’s the challenge isn’t it?  Small groups give the perfect setting to complete that challenge!

Forgiveness, My Testimony

On April 2, 2002 my life was changed forever.  I got a phone call from my dad, he was calling from the hospital with words I never thought I would hear.  My sister was in the ICU and my mother had died.  How could this have happened?! 

My 17 year old sister Stacy was in a coma fighting for her life.  Her head was fractured on every side and she had bleeding and swelling in her brain.  She had a broken arm and collarbone among other injuries.  The area of her brain affected was speech and memory.  Doctors anticipated that she would need a lengthy stay in a rehab hospital if she ever came to.  Stacy continued to sleep while we had my mother’s funeral.  One day her head swelled so badly she was hardly recognizable. 

Meanwhile, the man who caused the crash was being prosecuted by the state for negligent homicide because of how it occurred.  I started to look for revenge against this man who had caused the terrible accident that had stolen so much from me.  I was hurt.  I was angry.  I was confused.

But then 10 days after the accident Stacy woke up!  The first thing she did was to try to call our mother on the hospital telephone.  My father and a trauma counselor told her that mom had died.  On mother’s day that year she watched the funeral we had videotaped for her.  The one ray of light in the midst of this tragedy was the miracle God was doing with Stacy. 

In the beginning, the doctors had given her a 75% chance of having some type of brain damage.  They also said she would likely have to learn to cope with a speech impediment.  But after only one day in the rehab hospital it was evident that her speech and mental capabilities were rapidly improving.  She was discharged. The doctors called her the Miracle Girl!  A month to the day after the accident Stacy was back in school and got a 99 and 100 on 2 pop quizzes! 

I began a 2 year journey that brought me to the point of forgiveness.  In the beginning of this process I couldn’t fathom forgiving the man who had killed my mother.  I would drive by his street and think of ways I could get back at him. 

“Forgive and you will be forgiven…”  Those words haunted me daily.  I just wasn’t ready, so I got involved in the court process.  I learned that I couldn’t find justice in the justice system.  Of course, what I was really looking for was revenge.  God showed me that my heart attitude had to be right and not accusatory.  After a long battle within myself, I decided to let God be the ultimate judge.  If you seek revenge in your heart it will only turn into bitterness and hate, and thwart the calling of God on your life and your relationship with Him and others. 

I realized I had to let it go!  I had to get rid of the blame and the hate. To live with a pure conscience was of greater value to me than trying to avenge my mother’s death.  So I chose to forgive him.  When I made the conscious decision to forgive, my heart started to soften.  I was still hurting but the anger and confusion began to fade. 

Even though the process of forgiveness had started, something was holding it back.  I felt like I had to tell this man that I forgave him.  I did not want to!  In fact, this was the last thing I ever wanted to do.  At one of the final court hearings we were in a room with him and I talked to him and his wife, I held his hand and told him “I forgive you.”  It was by far the hardest thing to do but from that point on, my heart was free!  I can’t begin to describe how wonderful it is to live with a free heart – free of anger, hurt, bitterness, revenge and hatred.

When I was asked to share this testimony of forgiveness I realized that I did not even remember his whole name!  You can be free!  Forgive!  Life is too short and God’s plan for you is too precious to keep bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart!

The Big One That Got Away

God taught me a lesson on faith this summer.  We were vacationing in northern NH on Lake Winnipesauke.  My husband caught the fishing bug.  It started Tuesday afternoon when he had a big large mouth bass on his line that got away.  It snapped the line and swam off with his hook in it’s mouth.

On Wednesday, he asked our 6 year old daughter Chloe to pray that he would catch a big fish.  Her prayer surprised us, “Dear God, please help Daddy catch the big fish that got away with the hook in it’s mouth, because that’s Daddy’s fish.”

Amazingly, one hour later he did just that!  He caught the same bass that had broken the line the day before, and it still had the hook and leader in it’s mouth!

Chloe prayed for that fish believing Chris would catch it! We could learn a lot by watching the faith of children.  They pray believing without doubt.  Then they go on playing or back to what they were doing without another thought about what they prayed for.  They don’t worry about the result!  They have trust that God will do what they prayed!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could pray like children?  All it takes is simple trust that our loving Father wants the best for His kids.  Let’s pray with faith believing that God will answer our prayer.  And not worry about the result.  Let’s pray believing we can catch the big one that got away!

by Bonnie McKinley

Mustard Seed Faith

I like cooking and one day I was making a fish recipe that called for mustard seeds.  Have you seen the size of a mustard seed?  It’s very small.  It’s actually the size of the period at the end of this sentence.  It got my attention!

In Luke 17 the apostles came to Jesus and asked him to increase their faith.  I thought His answer was very interesting.  He didn’t tell them the 12 ways to increase their faith or pray a prayer to give them more faith.  Look at what he said.

The apostles said to the LORD, "Increase our faith!" He replied, 
"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.”  Luke 17:5-6

All we need is the faith the size of a mustard seed!  


So don’t get caught up in how much faith you have or don’t have.  Instead use the faith God has given to you and speak to your problem to be uprooted and cast into the sea!  Dig into the Word of God and memorize some scriptures that pertain to your need.  And watch our miracle working God come through for you!   


by Bonnie McKinley